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Friday, July 31, 2009

I made turkey lasagna last Saturday night for my boyfriend (well, I ate some, too!). It was delicious. I can't bring myself to use bottled sauce, so I made up a pot of sauce, using yellow onion, red pepper, crushed and whole tomatoes, red wine, a pinch of sugar and salt, black pepper, garlic, cremini mushrooms, ground turkey, spinach and fresh herbs (oregano from my mom's backyard and basil from mine).

I used no-bake whole-wheat noodles, which worked well for me. I used a combination of fresh parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta cheese.

My only complaint is that the lasagna didn't stand up very well. Perhaps I need to thicken up my sauce with a little paste to accomplish a more sturdy lasagna. Thoughts? Suggestions?It was so good. I made my standard garlic herb toast (topped with more fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes!) and a salad to go with it.

Monday, July 27, 2009

I've been relatively good lately. I haven't spent that much on yarn, and I've refrained from clicking add to cart on more than one occasion in the last few months. There have been a few missteps, but I've also sold/traded a bit on ravelry, so I guess it all evens out (by the way, lots of stuff still available here on ravelry. I still have entirely too much, but it's not the worst vice I could have.

Here are a few of the newest stash items: Lorna's Laces, traded on ravelry (for my Cherry Tree Hill)

Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Sterling

My biggest weakness, MalabrigoThis is one of about 5 Malabrigo skeins that have been added to the stash lately. I'm a bad girl.

My first Noro, Chirimen

Enjoy the eye candy, folks!

Next up: a once-(nearly) perfect FO, botched by trouble cat and Ishbel revealed!

Friday, July 24, 2009

I made this version of potato salad (which really looked more like mashed potatoes with stuff in them) for the Fourth. Seriously, this stuff was so delicious.

I chopped fresh dill, parsley, green onions, celery, dill pickles, After boiling my new potatoes, I sort of mashed them, and combined them with all of the above ingredients, plus some stone-ground mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. I made sure to toss in the potatoes when they were still warm, so they really absorbed the flavor of the dressing. Mmm. It was divine. Happy Friday!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Finishing WIPs: I still haven't finished my CPH, but I only lack half a sleeve and the hood, as well as sewing it all together (and picking up ALL those stitches), but I still have hope that I can finish it by the end of the year. I DID, however, finish the other two WIPs on new year's list. I've got SEVEN projects on the needles right now, which is about average for me, sadly. I can see myself finishing all of them by the end of the year,but I honestly won't be surprised if one or two languish on the needles into the new year.

I've also made one of the additional new projects I talked about. Most importantly, but somehow left off my list for the year, was socks!

It's been a great crafting year so far. I can't believe we're nearly to August. Wowza.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Monday, July 20, 2009

I have a sock. One sock complete. You have no idea the milestone I have achieved. I didn't weigh my yarn before hand, but instead, just knit until I felt like it was long enough. I used the turkish cast-on, increased to 44 stitches and then down to 40 before the heel. I finished the heel last weekend in Austin (under Sarah's supervision), only tinking back twice (nothing short of a miracle!) to correctly do the short row heel. I did a 3 X 1 rib for just over an inch to finish it off. My toe and heel are a little loose, but Sarah has assured me that washing does help to even out stitches. We shall see if there is truth to this.

I'm about halfway to the heel on the second sock, and already dreaming of my next pair. I hope to have this mate done by the end of the month, and I don't think that's overambitious. My second toe seems to be tighter and better-formed. It makes sense, since I had more confidence the second time around. Hopefully, the same can be said about my second heel.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

This morning, I have two fat quarters to share with you: one is Erin McMorris-Leaf Dots and the other is Amy Butler-Wallflower. I don't have much pink in the fabric stash, but these were too vibrant and lovely to pass up.

Friday, July 10, 2009

I'm destashing a bit this week. After considering the use for some of my stashed yarns, it's time to face facts and realize that some of these lovelies will just never reach their full potential while sitting in bins/drawers.

If you're interested (and on ravelry, since this is a rav link), here's the goods. I'm open to haggling, although I'd rather not trade for other yarnage, since that would sort of defeat my purpose here today.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

I don't know what my problem is about socks. I've tried to make them twice before, as in, cast on, plugged away for a while, enough to have the whole leg knit, start the heel, and then, screw it. I just. gave. up. I don't think it's the heel that gets me. I think it's the fiddly double pointed needles with the teeny tiny yarn thread. In an effort to combat that double threat, I bought this new sock book and decided to teach myself to knit from the toe-up, and not use dpns.

Saturday night, I taught myself the turkish cast-on, and using two circulars, I'm well on my way to the heel. I'm using Rock Creek yarn in Cherry Blossom, and I've decided to just knit these in plain stockinette, although I may do some patterning on the leg portion, if I'm feeling particularly ambitious. I do think this yarn looks lovely in plain stockinette, though.

Monday, July 6, 2009

I sewed up this baby over the last few weeks. I've found that I sew best when I'm not rushed, and take my time to pin the fabric first. This pillow is of the envelope variety, although my envelope is just a smidge too short, so I may add an extra piece of fabric to provide better coverage. It's fun to play with the format, and I'm feeling more confident about adding little sections of fabric to complete the whole picture. I imagine that just comes with a little experience.

I used less than half a yard total of two fabrics by Amy Butler. I found this to be a great ending to the yellow stage of Project Spectrum. This is sitting on my red couch, and that's where it will stay, for now.

Bella and Olias had to check out my crafty work, as always. Look at those cute little bunny feet. Ah, I love them.

Friday, July 3, 2009

I made this zucchini bread a few weeks ago, thanks to a coworker's garden-grown zucchini. I used a recipe I found on recipezaar, but used less sugar, whole wheat flour instead of white flour and added flax seeds. I like to use mini-loaf pans, and I made some in a muffin pan as well. I made a double batch of the batter and took some to work and some to my family reunion.

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This blog is a collection of my amateur attempts to knit, sew, cook and do other crafty stuff. I live in Houston with my husband and three cats, Bella, Olias and Fitzgerald. You can contact me at parandroid7 at gmail dot com. You can find some destash and handmade goods in my etsy shop, at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Jaceycraft